NL West

Now Commenting On:

Chatwood's moxie catches Weiss' eye

Email

Print

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood had a mixed bag in his second appearance during Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Padres, pitching three efficient innings and allowing his first two runs of the spring while throwing 48 pitches, 31 for strikes.

It may have sounded like faint praise, but given his five hits and a walk, manager Walt Weiss' observation about his stranding three runners in scoring position highlighted the right-hander's ability to adjust on the fly.

"He did good damage control," Weiss said. "He was up a little bit at times, but he's a guy that's got enough stuff that he doesn't have to be perfect."

Chatwood is battling for a spot in the rotation, as he was during the spring of 2012. He made the Rockies' Opening Day roster as a reliever and shuttled up and down between the Rockies and the Minors before closing the season in Colorado's rotation. He made 19 appearances (12 starts) in the Majors and 13 starts in the Minors. If he doesn't crack the starting rotation, Weiss will give him strong consideration as a long reliever.

"I felt the way I threw the ball at the end of the year definitely helped me out, confidence-wise," Chatwood said. "And just rolling it in so far in Spring Training, that's really what I've been working on."

In two appearances, Chatwood has thrown five innings and yielded two runs on seven hits and two walks. Chatwood rejects the notion that results don't matter this early in the Cactus League -- he earned the victory on Wednesday after all -- and he was careful to study the "crooked with the straights" from his second outing.

"I felt good," Chatwood said. "I felt like I commanded the zone really well. I could have finished off some guys in 0-2 counts a little earlier. Threw a little too many pitches there, but overall I felt good about it."